Winter's Fortune
by Ionuneos
Summary: A series of Fortuneshipping oneshots starring Lucas, Dawn, and of course, Shaymin. Chapter 5: She's dirty, wanting, and in the arms of another man. At least, that's how Lucas sees it.
1. Anger

"NEXT TIME, DON'T."

Dawn and Lucas had heard of a contest for charity that was taking place in Pal Park. They were currently on Route 220, not more than a day and a half away from reaching their target.

Lucas's cheek was red, though not from the chilly weather. Rather, Dawn's hand had gone clear across it. With a huff, she put her arms back around Shaymin, the quietest member of the group, and continued walking.

Lucas stood still for a moment, recovering from the shock of being slapped by his best friend. Though occasionally losing her temper, he'd never seen Dawn resort to physical harm to get her point across. It took looking at Shaymin's tiny eyes that were peeking out from the side of Dawn to snap the boy out of his stupor. He ran forward until he was walking next to the girl again. "It was an accident! Dangit, Dawn, there's three feet of snow out here! How was I supposed to see the stupid Buneary?"

She was tempted to create and hurl a snowball at him. "Lucas, you _kicked it in the head!_ How do you _not_ see a brown rabbit in a field full of snow? Dangit, Lucas, you made it _cry!_ The thing couldn't have been more than a month old and you roundhouse kick it in the back of the head!"

"All right, let's keep this straight." Another one of Lucas's gloved fingers was lowered with each count he made. "One, it wasn't a roundhouse kick. I was bringing my leg up to keep walking. Two, the stupid thing was buried up to its mouth in snow. It was hardly out in the open. And three, I didn't know I had to watch out for rabbits in the middle of winter!"

"Ugh, your heart's as cold as your head is thick..."

Lucas was ready to explode with a counterattack, but froze. Instead, he breathed in a chilling breath of air, then exhaled. Though still irritated, his anger was smothered. He didn't say anything.

Moments passed by. It was exactly thirty seconds until Dawn jerked her head toward him and snarled. "What, now you're not talking to me?!"

She unknowingly increased the tension on her arms. The hugged Shaymin was sandwiched between Dawn's red-coat-covered stomach and arms. "Shay--" she choked, hardly getting that out.

Lucas kept his eyes forward. "Of course I am. I just have nothing to say."

"Well, find something then! It's freaking cold out here! If your source of amusement is hitting rabbits, atleast make yourself not completely dead weight and keep my mind on something else besides the freaking cold!"

"Here's two things to ponder. One, that sentence made little to no sense. Two, please stop choking my Shaymin."

Dawn looked down to see the Gratitude Pokémon struggling to breathe. She loosened her grip, freeing Shaymin's lungs. "Pffft. Now you're getting possessive?"

Again, silence filled the air. Besides Shaymin's heavy gasping to recover her previous breathing regimen, nothing but the wind could be heard. The quietness, however, didn't last for as long as it did last time.

"I asked you a question, Lucas!" shouted Dawn.

Lucas rubbed his eyes. "Yes. My role model is the Grinch."

"Do you really think I feel like putting up with your sarcasm right now?!"

"Who's being sarcastic?"

"UGH!!"

The boy sighed. "...I'm hungry. Let's just stop for lunch."

Dawn groaned. "Oh, you're hungry? That's something new! We just had breakfast twenty minutes ago, but let's stuff our faces a little bit more! Why not?"

Lucas checked his watch. It read that it was two in the afternoon, meaning that they haven't had anything to eat in six hours. He sighed a second time before removing his backpack and rummaging for food.

The afternoon passed by, and then the night. Morning was nearly finished as well. The scene constantly played time and time again, not different from a broken record. Dawn still got frustrated to the point of screaming over the most insignificant things. Shaymin got choked another four times. Lucas stayed as quiet as possible, which generally only angered Dawn more, which was the cause of Shaymin getting choked three out of four of those times.

"Ugh! How much longer?! Dangit, Lucas, you said that we'd be there by noon! What is it, like, one by now?!"

Lucas glanced at his watch. "...Half past ten."

Dawn's head dropped. "Ugh..."

For once in almost twenty-four hours, Lucas found the boldness to start a conversation. "So, um...Who are you going to use for the contest?"

"Idiot! Torterra's my best contest Pokémon. If there's no limitations, doesn't it make sense that I'm going to use him?"

Lucas rolled his fingers. The final straw had been shot at. "Hey, Dawn," he began, trying to keep his voice as cool as possible. "Could I take Shaymin for right now?"

Not surprisingly, the request earned him a fatal glare. "And now you're not trusting me with your stupid Pokémon?"

The fifteen-year old boy didn't speak a word. When he held his hand out, Shaymin wiggled herself free of Dawn's clutches and leaped over to her actual trainer gratefully. She turned her head to eye Dawn, scared that she'd go on a physical abuse rampage.

"Here..." Lucas lifted Shaymin up to his shoulder. When his hands were free, he stopped walking and put one hand on either of Dawn's arms.

"Don't touch me!" she cried, attempting and failing to get free.

"Dawn, I'm going to do something, but before I do it, I want to remind you how much I love you, okay?"

She frowned. "Don't bother with rape, there's nothing to see. My mother gave all the genes to my stupid sis--"

Lucas shut her up by returning her slap from the other day. His gloves were a bit more cushioned than Dawn's, so it didn't hurt as much, but it got what Lucas was getting at across.

Shaymin covered her mouth in a horrible attempt to hide her giggling.

The two trainers stayed like that for what seemed like minutes. Dawn's head was still turned in the direction she was slapped in, and Lucas's hand didn't move much either. When the latter finally lowered his arm back to his side, Dawn's head also craned back around.

Shocking no one, her eyes could have easily been mistaken for actually being on fire. "Do that to me again and you won't even have enough time to regret the day you were born."

"Dawn, c'mon..." Attempting to throw sand on the flames, Lucas ran his hand through Dawn's waist-long black hair. "You've almost killed Shaymin several times in a single day, and I'm starting to develop self-worth issues. Will you please tell me what's bothering you?"

"Preferably not, stupid prick!"

The girl barely reached the end of her sentence before Lucas suddenly leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. The sudden movement shook Shaymin from her perch. She managed to save herself by throwing a pair of paws on Dawn's shoulder as well, though she was now trapped between the two.

Silently noticing this, Lucas grabbed a hold of Shaymin in his hand before releasing his hold on Dawn's lips. Holding her in one hand, and rubbing Dawn's arm with the other, Lucas kept the warmest expression that he possibly could. "Now will you please tell me what's bothering you?"

Dawn threw on another upside-down smile. "Fine. Do you have to know what's bugging me? It's the end of the sentence!"

Lucas blinked at her. "...I'm sorry?"

"UGH." Dawn's neck and shoulders sagged forward. She found the strength to lift her head up and shoot her partner with yet another leer. "It's woman things, Lucas! _Woman things!_"

Once again he blinked, though for a slightly different reason. "...Oh."

"Yeah! 'Oh!' The most intelligent thing you've said all day." The two had a staring contest. Being in an impatient mood, Dawn broke it first. "What are you staring at?"

Lucas let out a gradually growing grin. "...I, just...Even though you've been pissed off for the past twenty-four hours straight, I never realized how cute you are when you're angry."

Dawn's face flushed red. She took a step back. "...Wh-What? What do you..."

"Yeah. The way your eyebrows furrow, and that semi-snarl that you have...It's just cute. I've never noticed it before."

"Um..." Dawn gulped. "...Th-Thank you?"

With a silent smile, Lucas offered Shaymin back to Dawn. She stared at the Pokémon for a moment before looking back up to Lucas. Finally, for once in an entire day, Dawn genuinely smiled and took a gentle hold of a somewhat nervous Shaymin. After moving it into its normal hugged position, Dawn put her head on Lucas's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her back and massaged her shoulder softly. Together, they continued walking toward their destination.

Dawn coughed innocently. "...About what I said earlier..."

"Mm-hm?"

Her head fidgeted on his shoulder. "...It's not like I'm not packing anything."

Lucas slapped himself in the face. "...Yeah. I--"

"I mean, sure, my sister got most of it, but--"

"Dawn."

"But I don't--"

"Dawn."

"I--What?"

"Let's just...Let's just keep walking."

"Oh..." She began petting Shaymin. "I just don't want you to think that I'm trying to hustle you or something, that's all."

"I-I'm sure you're not. So about the contest, I was thinking of using M--"

"At the same time, I don't want you to be disappointed or anything...I mean, I wouldn't want..."

"_Ugh..._" Lucas thought to himself, trying to tune Dawn out the best he could. "_I think I'd rather have her angry._"

They continued pressing on, their boots crushing the snow on their feet. Pal Park couldn't possibly be close enough.


	2. Blood

The night was almost perfect. The trio was near the end of Route 204, heading into Floaroma Town. Though still chilly, there wasn't very much snow on the ground. Random clumps occasionally impeded their progress, but an absent-minded sidestep was enough to bypass them. For the most part, the brilliant green grass lit the way to the peaceful flower garden. It was a good thing that the grass was wet, however; the moonlight's reflection on the melted snow was one of the few things to give light in the open pathway. Nearing midnight, the trainers decided to press on until they reached their destination.

That doesn't mean they weren't having problems staying awake.

Dawn threw her head back to look at the gibbous moon through her tired eyes. "Shaymin's so lucky...She better realize that."

The green creature was fast asleep, held safely in Dawn's caring arms. Her wispy, gentle breathing could just scarcely be heard by her chauffeur.

Lucas had to rub his eyes every ten seconds simply to keep himself from falling over unconscious. "She is the Gratitude Pokémon..."

"Hey, Lucas...Can I ask you something?"

"We came this far, we are _not _stopping now."

"No, that's not it..." The girl's head fell to look at Shaymin. Since she was still jealous of the Pokémon's ability to sleep, she had to turn her head forward to keep her mind off that subject. "Do you think...I really should have made that trade back there?"

Lucas looked at Dawn for a moment. She didn't react, so he shifted his head back to the front as well. "Who cares? It was only your Turtwig, and you hardly had a chance to bond with it. You have Torterra. If you want another one, we'll find a Ditto, give the two to the Daycare in Solaceon, and wait for the thief that breaks in and hands free eggs to everybody."

"Yeah, but...I just sort of feel like I sold Torterra out, you know? I mean, it was his first child..." Once more, Dawn's head fell. She closed her eyes, in spite of the risk of falling asleep.

Lucas rested his hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Lighten up. It's not like the angel of death swooped through and took all the firstborns. You just traded Turtwig to somebody who really wanted one. And besides that, look what you got in return. I know that you wanted a Vulpix at one point in your life."

Dawn put on a shy, conscious-weary smile. "Yeah..."

"You'll feel better about it in the morning." Lucas checked his watch. The moment he did so, the clock turned to one minute past midnight. "...Or later today, rather."

"Ugh..." Dawn's head dropped. "So TIRED!" she screamed.

The cry scared away several bird Pokémon from their perch in the trees. Lucas nearly lost hearing in one ear, and Shaymin slowly woke up, too.

Lucas rubbed his damaged ear. "...Well, I'm awake."

"S-sorry..." Dawn gently stroked Shaymin on her cheek. "I'm sorry. Go back to sleep, okay?"

"Min..." She snuggled deeper into Dawn's warm coat and closed her eyes.

Lucas yawned. "I'd love to..."

Dawn groaned, but decided not to continue the conversation.

Another patience-testing half hour passed by. Finally, the team was at the very edge of a forest. They could see Floaroma Town in the very near distance.

"Salvation!" Lucas cried.

Excited about finding a Pokémon Center, thus a warm place to sleep for the night, the two picked up the pace. However, Dawn didn't make it another five steps before getting her foot caught under an unnoticeable tree root. With her mind shifted to other things, Dawn's grip on Shaymin loosened and the Pokémon went flying.

She slammed into a tree. Instead of sliding down, however, she stayed attached to one spot for some reason. "Shay...Min...!"

Lucas bent down to the ground. "Dawn, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Her shaky elbows pushed against the ground, slowly elevating her up. "Check on Shaymin."

The boy bounced from the ground and ran over to his animal partner. She was still stuck, and she was still crying in pain. "...Shaymin? What's wrong?"

"Min! Min!"

Lucas tugged at her. However, she still didn't come loose. He wrapped both hands around her tiny body and yanked her off of her strange perch. This earned a scream possibly louder than the one Dawn had given earlier. Though they were hard to see in the moonlight alone, actual tears were rolling down her face.

"Shaymin, c'mon, what's wrong?"

Dawn freed herself and ran over to the scene. "Did something happen?"

"Don't know..."

They shrugged. Lucas handed his Pokémon back to Dawn to carry before continuing on their way. Shaymin was constantly crying in agony, though it was dying down over time.

"Lucas, I think the nurse should look at Shaymin when we get there..."

"Yeah, definitely."

Time passed. They weren't anymore than five minutes away from the Center, and Shaymin's cries had gone from ear-blasting shouts to inaudible yelps.

Dawn turned her head back. "We covered alot of g--" She stopped talking, shortly followed by walking as well.

"Dawn?"

The girl stared at the ground she had walked on. Lining almost every inch of it in a straight path was glittering red liquid. Her head jerked back around to her arm. Her right arm sleeve, and even a little bit of her left was completely doused in heavy fluid. Her cherry red coatsleeve had turned a heavy maroon. Lastly, she checked the only source she could think of.

Taking a hold of Shaymin in her hand, Dawn looked at her underside. Shaymin's lower body was the most soaked thing of all. Everything was a fatal red, including her tiny legs.

The girl's eyes popped wide open. "Shaymin is bleeding, Lucas!"

"What?!" Lucas barely had to take a single look. "Come on, let's get to the Center!"

Being very much awake now, the two tore off for the largest building in the entire town.

"Joy!" Lucas shouted upon getting the door to the Pokémon Center to open. There was quite an incident the last time Lucas and Dawn were in Floaroma Town, so they were already well acquainted with the nurse. "We need help!"

The nurse, patiently waiting on the other side of a counter, gasped slightly. "What's wrong?"

Lucas's head fell. "It's Shaymin..."

Not a minute was spent explaining things more than necessary. After giving the nurse the run down, she took Shaymin from Dawn's hold and bolted into the back of the large building. She vanished into a side room, leaving a very tired and confused team of humans left behind.

Lucas's head wasn't very high. The silence wasn't helping any. Now that they had artifical light to work with, Dawn observed herself. Pretty much everything that was reasonable for it was atleast splattered with blood. Her tight, black pants had a few lines streaking down them. It would take a miracle to get all the blood out of her coat.

"She was...kinda beat up, wasn't she?"

"Yeah..." replied Lucas in the most unenthusiastic voice Dawn had ever heard him use.

Knowing it would not only be inappropriate, but possibly make the situation worse, Dawn slid her jacket off. Her navy blue sweatshirt was the next line of defense. Not much blood managed to get on this. "Lucas, I'm sor--"

Lucas spun on his heel. He leaned forward and crashed his eyes on Dawn's shoulder, blocking his view of everything in the empty building. Though he tried repressing them, a few chokes managed to break out.

Dawn instantly threw her arms around his back. She stroked it gently, unsure if he even felt it through all of his clothing. She rested her eyes inbetween Lucas's shoulder and neck. "It's okay...Baby, it's okay...C'mon..."

She was admittedly scared. The boy she held in her arms scarcely showed his feelings like this. She wasn't sure what to do, or say. When he didn't reply, the only thing she could do is talk through her heart.

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm going to be saying that for a very long time, because it's my fault. I screwed up horribly tonight. I was stupid for not noticing how wet my jacket was getting, and if I was smart, I would have held on to her tighter, and we wouldn't have even had to worry about it."

It was becoming harder to keep the tears inside for Lucas. His sobs became more common.

Dawn realized the error of her ways. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby...We won't talk about that now. You're alright, Lucas, c'mon...She's alright. She's going to be alright..."

The night continued on without a word from the nurse. Two hours passed. Since then, Dawn and Lucas had moved to two chairs. The tears, which had finally calmed down with Lucas, started with Dawn. Covering her eyes from Lucas's view, she simply sat still and cried. Lucas rubbed her shoulder, watching her with his bloodshot eyes. There wasn't much else he could do at their current angle.

Finally, the nurse stepped back out. Before glancing around the main room, she shut the door behind her and heaved a small sigh.

The two trainers bounced out of their seats and ran over to the front desk. Dawn clung to Lucas's arm, scared of asking the question. Lucas was forced to do it.

"...Well?"

The nurse couldn't find the strength to look either of them in their obviously fearful eyes. "Shaymin...She...lost alot of blood." Dawn started choking harder, but tried to keep herself under control. Hearing her cry made Joy instinctively turn to the trainers. "I'm...sorry. Right now, she's...somewhat stable, I suppose. It's likely, however, that...she'll enter into shock soon. If it reaches that far, I'm afraid that I can't do very much to save her."

Dawn instantly quieted her crying. Joy spoke up again before either of them could question why.

"How did Shaymin get cut up so bad?"

Assuming she still needed the comforting, Lucas rubbed Dawn's arm. "Dawn took a flip and accidentally lost her hold on Shaymin...She went flying into a tree. Then got stuck there. It took alot more strength than you'd think to pull her off, so I'm guessing that something pierced through her. It was too dark to really see anything, though."

Joy bowed her head. "It was probably a poacher's tool..."

"Poacher?" Lucas echoed.

"There's been an outbreak of them around Floaroma recently. The Lake Guardian Mesprit's rumored to be around here right now, and I guess they want it. It's not right at all. At any rate, I'm sure you're both very tired. Please try to rest as well as you can for the night. I'll monitor Shaymin closely. I re--"

"Joy?" Dawn started off quietly. "Do Pokémon...and humans...have the same blood functions? There isn't a severe difference between the two, is there?"

Nurse Joy thought about the odd question for a minute. "...Well, no, I suppose not. Why do you ask?"

"My blood type is O...It can be given to any other blood type without a problem. Can't you take my blood and give it to Shaymin?"

"Oh, um," the nurse replied, too shocked to say much else. "Well, I..."

Lucas turned her so they could look each other in the eye. "Dawn, you hate needles..."

Dawn's eyes fell to the ground. "Yeah, I know I do..." They shifted back up. They were weak and confused, but they held a mysterious determination. "But I love Shaymin. More than I hate needles. We don't know how much time we have to work with, but we can assume that it's not much. I might be the only thing that can save Shaymin, and if I am, I'll do anything to do it." She kissed him on the cheek. "Especially since I'm the one that got us into this."

"Dawn, I-I'm not really sure..." Joy took a step back. "I've...never done a human-to-Pokémon blood transfusion before. If I screw up, I couldn't--"

Dawn turned to face Joy. "At the risk of killing your confidence further, you're our only hope. We don't have time to find another hospital, and we certanly don't have time to find a Pokémon with Shaymin's blood type. Please...atleast try. I know that you have to run some tests on me and everything first, which can take up to two hours by itself. We need to get started as soon as possible."

Joy scratched her cheek. "Y-you sure know your stuff, don't you?"

The girl chuckled as well as somebody could under the circumstances. "I've spent a bit of time reading about this and that..." She turned to Lucas. "The entire procedure could take well into the morning, and keeping you up any later will only add another thing for my conscience to ride on me about. It's already almost three in the morning. Please try to get atleast a little sleep, okay?"

Lucas nodded. He would have done anything in the world to stay with her, but if he was going to do nothing but be a bother, it wasn't worth it for anybody. "Good luck, Dawn." After returning her kiss, Lucas made himself scarce, disappearing into a side room where the beds were located.

Joy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

A heavy yawn interrupted her answer. She spoke as soon as she was able to. "More sure than confirming a winning lottery ticket..."

"...All right. Let me call in some extra nurses and we'll get started."

--

The night seemed to disappear. Surprising himself greatly, Lucas had fallen asleep for a few hours. It was twenty-three minutes to seven when he stepped out of his bedroom and walked into the main lobby. His eyes instantly spotted Dawn sitting in a chair with a donated blanket thrown over her. She was completely unconscious, but came to when Lucas accidentally shouted her name.

Opening her eyes, she weakly glanced around the room. When she laid eyes on her comrade, she let out the weakest of smiles. "Hey..."

He was almost instantly at her side. "How'd it go? Why are you out here? When did--"

He was interrupted when Dawn's head crashed onto his shoulder. He glanced over and instantly noticed that she was out cold.

Joy, looking nearly as weary as Dawn, stepped into the room. In her arms was Shaymin, wrapped loosely with a smaller blanket. "Everything went fine. Shaymin's going to be perfectly fine."

Lucas smiled. It grew in size by the second. "...Thank you," he whispered, accepting his Pokémon from the nurse.

"Both Shaymin and Dawn might be weak for a few days. I'd recommend staying around Floaroma until they both recover one hundred percent."

Lucas nodded. The nurse left, leaving the three alone in the lobby.

The conscious trainer continued smiling. His best friend was in his lap. Someone even more important than that was on his shoulder. He couldn't really help a long-lasting grin.


	3. Cabin

"Erk...It's not helping much. Maybe we should just stop here for the rest of the night?"

"Here? Isn't it a little...?"

"Well, I guess so, but I don't want to keep traveling like this."

The group was in Oreburgh City, near the construction zone. They had just taken a scenic detour through the mine that the town's infamous for. Soon before reaching the main part of the city, Shaymin began burning up. After attempting a few comforting tactics, nothing seemed to work. Lucas had removed his coat and handed it to Dawn to wrap around the creature, though, as noted, it wasn't doing too much. Snow was falling at a moderate pace, which wasn't helping the situation at all.

"I'd rather protect Shaymin," the girl said, bouncing the sick Pokémon in her arms to keep it amused. "We're way too far away from the Pokémon Center. If we keep walking, we can't protect her from the snow and wind."

"That's fine, Dawn, and I'd love to agree with you. But...here? How are we supposed to sleep here? Wherever there aren't broken boards, there's broken rocks. It'd be impossible to get comfortable."

"Comfortable? How about if you were Shaymin?! If you're so worried about being comfortable, then go on ahead. Go to the Pokémon Center and have a party if you want to. I'm going to stay here and make sure Shaymin stays comfortable."

"Agh..." Lucas put his hand behind his head and scanned his surroundings. He froze when his eyes landed on a small cabin. "...Or we could call a truce and get in there."

Dawn followed his eyes. After confirming the location, the two dashed off towards the abandoned log home. Dawn spoke comforting things to Shaymin the whole run over.

When they reached it, Lucas put his hand on the doorknob. He instantly came to a conclusion. "...It's unlocked."

"Quit complaining and get in there, then! Shaymin needs to get out of this cold!"

Lucas quieted and stepped inside, being tailed by Dawn. Finally out of the freezing cold and into a freezing cabin, albeit the latter being snowproof, Lucas rubbed his hand on the wall next to him until he found a lightswitch. He flicked it on, and the bland living space was illuminated. A couch, three chairs, and a fireplace were all that occupied the main room. A door leading to a side room was next to the smokestack.

Dawn walked forward and set Shaymin near the chimney. She found an unhidden box of matches. After igniting one, she hastily threw it on the pile of wood that was already in place. The flame caught, and the entire stack of logs enveloped in fire.

Satisfied, Dawn huffed a small sigh and made her way back to the couch. Since the fire had been lit, Lucas had shut the lights off and was already on the left hand cushion, so she sat down on the middle one. She rested her head on Lucas's shoulder, brought her legs up on the remaining cushion, and watched Shaymin pant from afar.

"Thank you," Lucas said, breaking the silence.

"For what?"

"For caring about Shaymin like that. Sometimes hard to believe that she's my Pokémon."

"Mm, hmhm..." she giggled. She shifted around and made full use of her living pillow. Becoming comfortable on Lucas's chest, she closed her eyes and already started to drift off. "I hope you'll forgive me for thinking of her as our Pokémon...C'mon, you got Shaymin, what, six months ago? Can't we take down the possessive barrier yet?" she wondered, half-asleep and not intending this to be a serious topic.

"No! Shaymin's mine! Mine, mine, mine!" Lucas comically pouted. Content with getting a small giggle out of Dawn, he lowered his head and kissed Dawn on the very top of her cranium. He put his arms around her, then also got into a comfortable sleeping position. He closed his eyes.

"Shaymin," Dawn called out, not being bothered enough to open her eyes. "if you need anything, just come get us, okay? Try to get some sleep, and we'll get you to a Center as fast as we can in the morning! You'll be fine, dear...Good night..." The latter part of her sentence was so tired-sounding, it barely carried across the small cabin.

"Shay, min..." the fevered girl panted out.

Things were quiet for another five hours. However, Shaymin's fever was taunted by the night. She woke up, short of breath. She wandered over to the couch and leaped for a cushion. She ended up landing near Dawn's knees. She began pushing them with her snout, all the while feeling quite guilty for being such a bother.

It didn't take very long for Dawn to also regain consciousness. Her movement caused a chain reaction to Lucas, which woke him up as well. Groggy, the human girl looked around until she noticed the small Pokémon prodding her kneecap. She reached down and took a hold of Shaymin with her hands, watching her with infinite worry. She sat up straight on the middle cushion. "Aw, Shaymin, what's wrong?.." she asked, forcing herself to stay awake.

"...Shay, min..." she complained, trying to snuggle into Dawn's sweatshirt.

"Mm..." Dawn hugged Shaymin tightly. "What time is it, Lucas?"

"Ugh, too early to be up..." Assuming that a bit of parenting would need to be done, Lucas accepted his fate and sat up straight. He tilted his arm towards the fire so he could make out the time. "About three..."

Snuggling with her closest inhuman friend, Dawn forced herself to come to an unfortunate conclusion. "...Shaymin needs medicine, Lucas," she stated, running her thumb over Shaymin's head. "She's really starting to burn up. Can't we call the Center and have them come pick her up?"

"Sure." Lucas rubbed his eyes on his way over to the lightswitch. He flipped the lights back on. "After we call them on our imaginary phone, we can tell them that we're south of Oreburgh...somewhere."

The wind pounded fiercely on the entire cabin. Dawn actually shuddered, thinking about having to be out there right now. It made her attach to Shaymin even tighter. "We can't go outside now...The wind would screw Shaymin over even more, poor thing..." When Shaymin began coughing, Dawn realized it might not be such a good idea to say things like that right now. "It's okay, sweetie...We'll take care of you..."

Lucas rubbed the back of his head. "What should we do?"

"Here...Here, Shaymin...You sit here for just a moment, and I'll be right back, okay?" Dawn gently set the Gratitude Pokémon on the cushion, then stood up and walked over to where Lucas was standing. She threw her arms around his back and put her head on his shoulder. This left her mouth conveniently close to his ear. "...I'm scared, Lucas. I don't know what we should do. If staying up and playing with her was all we needed to do to survive until morning, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"But..."

"...But even if we get her to _feel_ better, it doesn't mean that she _will be_ better..."

Shaymin nervously watched the two mingle. They were whispering quietly, so she couldn't make out what they were saying. Her fever tricked her into assuming the worst. "Shay! Shay!" she cried out, fear in her voice.

Dawn jerked her head around to look at the trembling Pokémon. She shifted back around to look at Lucas. "I think...the most important thing we can do right now is to be here for her. As soon as we notice the wind die down, we'll head for the Center, okay?"

Lucas nodded and shut the lights off once more.

The two got into their previous positions. Lucas was still being used as an awkward pillow for Dawn, though he didn't mind it so much. This time, however, Shaymin was placed on Dawn's chest. She was constantly being stroked on the side of her face by her female compadrae.

"It's no fun being sick..." Dawn absent-mindedly stated, starting conversation. "My mom took the best care of me, though. I remember--" She interrupted herself with laughing. "I remember that I had to drink three glasses of water before lunch, and I was practically shot at if I moved from my bed."

"Really?"

"Mm..." Dawn shifted a bit, but made sure to keep Shaymin's balance steady. "It was incredibly boring, but nobody could say that I didn't recover pretty fast."

"Eh...My dad would buy me a comic book, occasionally make something resembling chicken noodle soup, and let me watch TV all day..."

"What?! You got free stuff out of it? That's not fair..."

"Dawn?"

"Mm?"

"Shaymin...She...isn't awake anymore, is she?"

Dawn opened her eyes to check the condition of the Pokémon. As Lucas had predicted, the Grass-type was out cold. Dawn closed her eyes again and giggled. "I guess our pointless ramblings can even help the sick fall at ease..."

"We should start a clinic."

Dawn's laugh was the last sound that reverberated through the cabin for hours. Lucas soon fell asleep, and Dawn soon followed him. All three slept peacefully, considering their only pillows were each other.

The sunrise seemed to be the next thing that happened. When Dawn opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was no Shaymin. Somewhat panicking, she quickly sat up straight and glanced around the room.

It didn't take her long to find the creature. Shaymin was on the floor by her feet, beaming Dawn with a shining smile. "Shaymin, Shaymin shay!" she shouted energetically.

It was that yell that woke Lucas up. When his senses returned to him enough to understand what was going on, he smirked. "Well, look who's feeling better..."

"Shaymin!" the Pokémon quickly responded.

Dawn was the last to equip a smile. She picked Shaymin up into her arms. "Well, all right...but we're still taking you to the Pokémon Center for a checkup, just incase, understand?"

"Shay, min!" she nodded.

Dawn set Shaymin back down on the floor. She scampered over to the fireplace and watched the still-active flames closely.

The raven-haired girl leaned back in her seat and sighed. She had an odd amount of contentment inside of her. "Can you believe it? We got through Shaymin's first sickness...It was almost a little easy, too. Not that I'm complaining."

Lucas put his hand on Dawn's farthest shoulder from him. He pecked her on the cheek. "...Last night, you didn't need to tell me that your mother took good care of you when you were sick. I knew it already."

A little too shy to face Lucas directly while he was so close, Dawn simply watched Shaymin, trying hard to keep her blush under control. "Oh, really?"

Lucas gave her another peck. "You're going to be a great mother one day."

Dawn smiled, embarrassed, but happy with the compliment. She stood up and started walking over to Shaymin. "In a way..." She bent down and pet the Pokémon gently. "...it sort of feels like I already am." She took Shaymin into her grasp and stood back up. She turned to the boy in the room. "Anyways, let's get to the Center!"

The two exited the strange cabin. Both felt a little more fulfilled than when they had entered it.


	4. Dealt

"C'mon. C'mon. Dangit."

Lucas slumped in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Why, he wasn't sure. The result was pretty much what he had been expecting.

When the blurriness disappeared from his vision, he looked up and saw just what he had seen before: bar, bar, seven.

"Shaymin," the Pokémon chirped in a vain attempt to comfort him.

Among its many attractions, Veilstone City was perhaps most famous for its shopping mall. That wasn't where they were at. With lights flashing all around them, repetitive sounds beeping from everywhere, and the faint smell of alcohol in the air, the team found it hard to forget that they were in Veilstone's Game Corner.

Neither of the three considered themselves tourists to the location; they had swung by this town more than several times during their journey. One, more so than the others, was getting a little too used to this particular location.

Dawn was sitting in a chair next to Lucas, also occasionally groaning. She didn't have the exact same ambitions as her partner does, as was proven today. The feel of the atmosphere, the chance of winning it all...Neither of those things particularly appealed to her. As far as she was concerned, this place did nothing but steal money, stay unclean, and house creepy people. It also provided shelter from the cold, but then again, so would that shopping mall across the street.

"Lucas..." the girl whined as the corner of her eye caught her friend dropping more coins into the machine. "Can't we go now?"

Shaymin was perched comfortably on the top of Lucas's hat. She turned briefly to look at Dawn, but went back to the machine when Lucas pulled the lever.

"Next one," he babbled, barely understanding the words he was saying. He seemed unfazed as another attempt at bringing in cash on the slots ended with spectacular failure. "Promise."

Dawn sighed. He had said that same thing before. Since then, he had gone back up to the counter to trade in cash for game coins. Twice.

With one more huff of air, Dawn stood up and began walking away. "I'm in charge of finances when we get married..."

"Sure, after we get married..." He pulled down on the lever again, then quickly jerked his head towards her with sudden interest. He saw only her backside. "Wait, what?"

Whether she hadn't heard him or just chose to ignore him, Lucas wasn't sure. It didn't seem to bother him nor Shaymin much as he dropped three more coins into the machine.

Dawn weaved through the crowd slowly. As far as casinos -especially in Veilstone- go, the place actually wasn't very busy. Not many more than half the seats of slot machines were taken up. She hopelessly turned her head to watch a stranger win ten whole tokens on a spin. "_Wonder if that would satisfy Lucas,_" she thought to herself.

In her unguided attempt to pass time, she exited from the rows of that particular game and into a different area. This section had felt-lined boards and dice. Glancing up at the ceiling, she spotted a sign reading, "Pokémon Craps." She barely blocked a chuckle caused from the name, then watched some people playing it.

She was moderately good at understanding things after given some time to watch someone else do it; there was just a touch of irony in that she had beaten Maylene, the Veilstone Gym Leader, by figuring out how her Pokémon battled by studying them. The ability, however, failed her here. As she watched for three quarters of a minute, she didn't understand what the point of the game was.

Then again, she wasn't sure what the point of this building was.

She peeked back and spotted Lucas by the green and white thing that was on his head. He hadn't moved an inch. Another sigh, and she pressed on.

More tables. Dawn almost continued walking without paying attention to them, but the design of them caught her eye. Half a circle, almost like a broken moon. On the green felt that covered it was plenty of printed boxes and phrases she didn't even recognize, like "double down."

She was snapped out of her table-studying daze by a charming voice calling out to her. First, she realized that it was the operator of the table; then she realized that the charming voice belonged to a balding, fifty-something year-old man. He wore the standard outfit that everyone employed by this place seemed to have, but he wore a large grin even better. He was enjoying what he was doing, and Dawn had to give him that much.

"Ever play, Miss?"

Dawn only now noticed the table was devoid of other humans. He was probably delighted when she had walked up to his desk for the sake of having company. When his words registered as a question in her brain, Dawn fixed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "O-only a couple times," she stuttered, having not expected to talk to anyone in here.

"First one's on the house," he bribed. The elderly man grabbed a deck of cards and tossed them around into a pile, supposedly shuffling them.

It was good that it was free, since Dawn didn't have any coins on her. She decided to humor the guy. While she took a seat, the dealer expertly picked up and straightened all the cards at once.

He gave himself one card flipped face-down. He gave the next one to her facing up. Then he gave both of them one more face-up card.

Dawn counted eleven on her cards. It was a good total for this game, which made her even more suspicious if this round was set up to trick her into spending money. It was important to remember that, at the very least, this round was for fun. With that in mind, she muttered the questionable words, "Hit me," and waited.

The dealer pulled the top card off the deck and slammed it on the table next to Dawn's others. A six of hearts. Aesthetically pretty, but a poor card right now. She didn't want to risk going over the benchmark of twenty-one. "I'll stop."

Wordless but smiling, her opponent revealed both of his cards. They added up to fourteen; one quick draw after, and he was at eighteen.

"Better luck next time, eh?"

Before Dawn could make a response, she was held in her chair by a hand on her shoulder. When she glanced at it, she found it recognizable. It helped even more when the owner of the hand spoke. "You're playing something? And you didn't burst into flame?"

"Shut up..."

Lucas took a seat next to her, much to her disliking. "Give us a round," he stated, throwing enough coins across the table for both of them to play.

"Lucas, I don't-"

"How about a bet?"

Dawn blinked her eyes. She didn't pay much attention as the dealer hurled a card or two at her. "...What?"

"A bet. If I win, youuu..." he hummed, deciding on a reasonable wager. "have to buy me a milkshake."

The young woman came close to slapping him on the backside of the head and shouting, "_No way!_" Just moments before she did, she realized that this opportunity was a gift from above. She smirked and altered her choice of words. "And if I win, we have to leave." She paused for a moment, but one last idea came to her that she hastily voiced. "Oh, and I get a kiss."

Lucas broke their gaze to look at the cards he had been given. They amounted up to sixteen. "Hit me."

He was dealt a third card; a four of clubs. "Twent-" the dealer started to say.

"Hit me."

"But-"

"Hit me."

The older man took a quick glance at Dawn, who was too busy watching Lucas to notice it. He shrugged, then dealt him another card.

It was a seven, blowing his near-perfect hand over the limit. With an expression on his face that almost looked like relief, Lucas turned back to Dawn. "Do they have to be in that order?"

"Not necessarily," she answered quickly. Without looking at the dealer, she told him, "Um...I fold."

The man behind the table was beyond taken aback by now. His cheery emotion was replaced entirely by confusion. "Uhh, Miss, you can't fold in this game-"

Unfortunately, his words didn't leave his mouth fast enough. The boy planted his mouth on the girl's, bringing him to the conclusion that neither cared much about what he had to say.

Lucas's head inevitably tipped on its side; Shaymin had successfully predicted this and reacted to it. She took a gentle leap off of her Trainer's hat and landed on the soft table.

She shifted her head around to watch as her human companions deprived one another of oxygen. The event didn't do very much for her, convincing her to turn back and face the last person in the immediate area.

"Shay."

The dealer closed his eyes and shook his head; when he opened them back up, sure enough, the situation was still the same. The two had stopped kissing, however, and now only leaned their foreheads against one another. They still seemed absorbed in their own world, and that green hedgehog was still staring at him.

He shrugged and proceeded to deal Shaymin two face-up cards, all while trying to ignore the two teenagers. But, that was okay. They were ignoring him, too.


	5. Earth

"Thanks again for doing this with us, Roark!"

"Of course! This'll be a blast."

Lucas and Dawn had decided to take a small vacation in Canalave City. While there, however, they met up with Roark, Gym Leader and friendly rival to the team. They hadn't seen Roark since they both had challenged him back in Oreburgh City so long ago for their first League badges, but it didn't take long for them to get reacquainted. After Dawn casually mentioned their unused Explorer's Kit, Roark insisted that he detoured them around a small chunk of the underground maze.

Roark was in the lead, though an excited Dawn was staying right at his side. Lucas kept his distance. Keeping him occupied was Shaymin, who decided to ride around on her actual trainer for awhile. She found it amusing how quiet he had turned as soon as they had made their way into the earth. Instead of helping Lucas keep his mind off of his obvious jealousy, Shaymin found herself staring at the rocky walls that surrounded them. They were constantly trapped on two sides by a solid wall, besides the rare moments that they went through an intersection. The air was very dusty, which was to be expected.

"So what are you doing here in Canalave?" Dawn inquired to the older man. "No challengers at the Oreburgh Gym?"

"Oh, if only that were the case," Roark replied, laughing. "Seems like there's always a new trainer out there, itching to get started on their journey...Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. No, actually, I was just taking a small break myself. I decided to come out here and see what Dad's up to."

"Ah, that's right. I forgot that Byron was your dad. Guess being a Gym Leader is a family tradition, huh?" Dawn nudged Roark's elbow playfully. "So when will the next one in line be coming up, hmm...?"

The girl got Roark to blush. He scratched his cheek nervously. "Well, um..." He finally coughed. "Lucas," he called back, conveniently shifting subjects. "So what's up? Talk to me. You fell silent all of a sudden. Or did the majesty of the air take your breath away?"

"_Something like that..._" Lucas groaned to himself.

Before he could actually get around to a verbal response, Dawn cut in. "You call this majestic? With all due respect, I can hardly breathe down here..."

Roark put his arm around Dawn's shoulders, slightly startling her. Shaymin forced herself not to laugh after sensing how high Lucas's tension soared. "That, my friend, is a small detail that you'll get used to," Roark assured her. "Who needs air when you have dirt?"

Lucas didn't share in the same good laugh that the other two humans did. Shaymin finally caved into his disappointment and frowned. She rubbed his cheek softly with her paw. "Shaymin, shay..."

"I'm fine, Shaymin," replied Lucas, forcing a weak smile. "Just a little tired, and like Dawn said, it's too earthy down here for me. Thanks, though."

Shaymin knew her trainer well enough to know when he was lying. She also knew him well enough to know that he'd never confess anything to her. She sighed heavily before returning her gaze forward.

"Ah!" Roark suddenly exclaimed. He dashed away from Dawn and stopped at a wall that they had been nearing. "See this?"

Dawn rushed over to his side immediately. "What is it?"

"This..." Roark began, rubbing his gloved hands around a protruding bulge in the rock. "is the reason we're down here. Ready to dig up some treasure?"

Dawn nearly exploded with excitement on the spot. "What? Really?"

"Sure! Let's see here..."

The Trainer set the Explorer's Kit on the dirt and backed away. That left their temporary partner plenty of room to get on a knee and begin rummaging through it, all while explaining its contents to a very intrigued Dawn.

Lucas knew he should have been paying attention as well, but it was hard for him to. He folded his arms for a second, looking on in disgust, but soon dropped the act. He started petting Shaymin as a light smile crept onto his face. "...She's pretty happy, isn't she?"

"Shay, Shaymin..."

The feeling of warmness didn't last for very long. His previous emotion elevated to the top in seconds after seeing Roark hold Dawn from the back.

"So I hold the hammer like this...?"

"Right...Then just lightly tap it..."

Facing the wall, Dawn lifted a durable, but compact hammer into the air. She gently smashed its head into the rock, causing a bit of it to crumble. Roark was behind Dawn, holding her wrist, making sure she was doing everything correctly.

"Perfect!" he complimented. "In fact, I think I already see something shining in there..."

"Really?" Keeping careful, Dawn continued whittling away at the rock with the hammer.

Lucas's eyes turned off to the side. He couldn't enjoy himself. If Dawn wasn't clung onto Roark so tightly, he wouldn't have minded so much. "_What's she see in him? Is she fangirling over Roark just because he's a Gym Leader? A Gym Leader who got crowned by both of us?_"

"Lucas!"

The shout of excitement shook the boy from his thoughts. His eyes returned to Dawn, who was bolting towards him.

"Look what I dug up!" Once she reached her friend, she stretched her arm out and opened her hand, revealing a gem that wanted to sparkle; after a quick wash, it would be able to. "Roark called it a Sphere."

"Right," Roark agreed, appearing on the scene. He put an arm around either of their shoulders. "They're generally not worth much to a lot of people, but there are others that will jump off a bridge for those things. Green ones are a bit more on the common side."

"That's all right..." Dawn rubbed the item, attempting to clean it a bit. "I want to keep it, anyway."

"Cool. You know, there's a general rule people follow down here. If you find any treasure, chances are, there's more nearby. So, you up next, Luke?"

"_Don't call me that._" He quickly flashed a smile. "Sure."

"Great." Roark continued down the path. Dawn quickly gave chase. After a small sigh that he made sure to keep to himself, Lucas did the same.

As legend had it, they came across another bundle of rock that was jutting out more than normal. Lucas grabbed the hammer from the Explorer's Kit. As Roark stepped up to help him, the boy became uncomfortable. "I got this," he notified.

"Whoa. All right, then! Get us something pretty," Roark cheered, backing off a bit.

Dawn hopped forward and stole Shaymin off of Lucas's shoulder, deciding to prevent any strange accidents that may occur. She brought her into her usual hugged position and watched Lucas pound away at the wall, a smile on her face the entire time.

Her smile wasn't the only one. Though trying to hide it, Lucas failed miserably at blocking a grin. "_Not a bad way to relieve stress,_" he thought to himself, picturing Roark's face at the receiving end of every hammer stroke.

"Having fun?" Roark wondered, arms folded. He'd taken notice of the odd smile the boy had.

"This is...better than I gave it credit for," Lucas answered, pausing briefly as the hammer collided with the wall. He reached into a tiny hole he had made and pulled his arm back out holding an object that looked similar to the one Dawn had found. His was shaded red instead of green, however. Having only moderate interest in his first finding, he handed the object to Roark to hold onto while he searched for any more treasure.

"Whoa!" repeated Roark, this time with more energy. He lifted the Sphere up to eye level to examine it. "We got ourselves a natural here. I was terrified the first time I made a grab for an item, but hey, you go, boy!"

Before anybody knew it, an hour and a half passed. Dawn, still with Roark's help, was the one that was digging the most. Though the small audience seemed to love to watch Lucas work, the few times he had stepped up to the plate was because of all the prodding Dawn and Roark had to do. He enjoyed the sport, but decided that he'd probably enjoy it more once it was just him and Dawn.

Another excuse Lucas had was Shaymin, who was sleeping in his ungloved hands. Though somewhat interesting, doing nothing but watching everybody else excavate made the Gratitude Pokémon rather tired. Every time he felt jealousy riding high, Lucas's attention turned to Shaymin. Her light breathing was cute enough to keep his mind busy.

"Phew..." Roark wiped away some sweat that had formed on his forehead. "All righty, I think it's almost time for a break. I'll just help you with that last one, then I'll be calling it a day." He bent down to grab some supplies from the Explorer's Kit. "I'll be staying here in Canalave for the weekend, so feel free to come get me anytime you want to hang out!"

"Thanks a lot, Roark, but actually..." Dawn rubbed her right arm with her left hand when Roark's gaze lifted up to her. Some dirt had managed to stick to her left cheek. "Would it be all right if Lucas helped me with this one?"

Eyes widened, Lucas heard his name and turned his head to the conversation, which he had tried tuning out. "What?"

Roark's head bounced back and forth between the two. "Huh? Oh, uhh...Sure! Of course. Fine by me. I'll go ahead and get out of here now then, 'kay?"

The Gym Leader gave a quick "Oof" as Dawn jumped forward and hugged him. "Thank you so much for showing us how to do this! We'll definitely be coming back down here more often!"

"Haha!" Roark beamed. "Another soul converted." After leaving Dawn's embrace, Roark turned to the remaining member and offered him a hand. "Or would you prefer a hug, too?"

Lucas forced one last smile before gripping the man's hand and shaking it. "Thanks again, Roark."

"Glad I could help. Didn't I say it was going to be fun? I'll be seeing you two later." With one last quick wave, Roark turned his back and walked away. His steps could be heard echoing in the sudden quietness of the mine.

Dawn giggled. She danced forward, leaping over the equipment that laid on the floor. After she reached her friend, she brought her head forward and planted a long-lasting kiss on his lips. After breaking off for air, she snickered once more as she rubbed under Lucas's chin, also keeping their eyes tightly locked with each other. "You're kinda sexy when you're quiet...but I think I still like the other you better. If there's something wrong that's making you so stubborn, tell me!"

Lucas grinned. His head turned to confirm that Roark had left. Seeing no one else around, he leaned forward and planted another kiss on Dawn. "Can't say that I've ever been better. Come on, let's finish this little trip up. I wouldn't mind some fresh air."

The black-haired girl nodded. She bent down to the ground to pick the hammer up before making her way over to the wall. Lucas came up behind her and grabbed her wrists, much like how Roark was training her. This mentor, however, lowered his head and gave Dawn's neck a soft kiss.

Dawn giggled as a small chill drove down her spine. "I don't think that has anything to do with mining..."

"Sorry."

With a light groan of exertion, Dawn lifted the heavy hammer up and pounded away at the wall some more.


End file.
